The Place to be Happy is Here, The Time is Now
by Alilly
Summary: Mrs Hughes was quite confounded by the level of giddiness amongst the staff...
1. Chapter 1

**I must admit that I am not entirely sure where this is going. There is a second chapter which I am in the process of rewriting. Thoughts and suggestions welcome :)**

Mrs Hughes was quite confounded by the level of giddiness amongst the staff. The day had begun like any other, it was a warm sunny day outside but aside from that there was nothing special about it and yet, the mood of the staff was exceedingly jovial. No, more than jovial, frivolous.

Breakfast in the servants' hall was generally a rushed affair, some people were always a bit sleepy, others a bit irritable (Miss O'Brien!). This morning however it was as though everyone had awoken from sleeping on a cloud the night before. The chatter was loud and jolly. Even Thomas appeared witty and engaging rather than bitter and offensive.

Once breakfast had finished and everyone had departed the servants' hall she caught up with Mr Carson and casually mused at everyone's good humour. Perhaps she had missed something!

"It was unusual, granted, but my suggestion is – don't question it!" Mr Carson said. "Before you know it Thomas and William will be at each other's throats or Miss O'Brien will have said something to upset Gwen or Mrs Patmore or…"he sighed. "Enjoy the peace while it lasts!" he smiled dryly at her.

"You are right Mr Carson, of course. I shouldn't be looking a gift horse in the mouth!" she replied and he gave a short laugh before going about his business.

As the day wore on however the "gift horse" began to look increasingly suspicious. When she came across Thomas and Anna laughing in the corridor outside the kitchen she was certain something was amiss! They had hurried along about their business as soon as they saw her. She went straight to Mr Carson's office where she found him at his desk looking through some ledgers. He glanced up briefly, then paused and raised his head more slowly to take a proper look.

"Mrs Hughes? Is everything alright?" he asked, concern on his face.

"I hope so but I have my suspicions." She said.

Mr Carson raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"They are still at it." She said, as though it were plainly obvious who she meant by "they" and "it".

Mr Carson raised his eyebrows again. "Who? At what?"

She rolled her eyes though she didn't mean to. "The staff. They are still being…" as she tried to think of an accurate description of their behaviour it dawned on her how ridiculous she would sound. The staff were still being nice to each other? Quick, stop the presses! She began to feel foolish and it must have shown in her expression because Mr Carson began to smile.

"Still being cheerful are they? How dare they!" he held back a cheeky grin but the mirth was plainly dancing in his eyes.

Faced with this feeling of foolishness and now Mr Carson's mockery, Mrs Hughes relied on one of her old reliable defences against uncomfortable situations – a look of stern reproach.

Mr Carson bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement of the unspoken rebuke.

"Sorry." He said, his lopsided smile begging forgiveness which she granted with the relaxing of her rigid posture and relenting her stern gaze. "I'm sure it's nothing." He said, then checking his watch. "It's nearly lunchtime, if they get through another meal without us having to referee any disputes, then…" he smiled, "then I might start to worry."

She nodded. "You're right. Again."

"I have been known to be on occasion!" he quipped jokingly.

"Hmm." Was all she said and left him to get back to work.

Lunch in the servant's hall was like a replay of breakfast. Mr Bates was regaling them all with some story about time spent in France. It was exactly the situation in which one would normally have expected Thomas to stick his oar in and upset everyone but instead he seemed genuinely interested in Mr Bates' story and not only listened but asked sensible questions and contributed to a proper discussion. Mrs Hughes looked pointedly at Mr Carson and raised an eyebrow. Mr Carson shrugged slightly in response, though he too was surprised at the civility between Thomas and…well, everyone! He thought he had caught Gwen and Daisy looking sideways at him and Mrs Hughes once or twice but otherwise everyone seemed relaxed and he couldn't pinpoint anything strange about their behaviour. In fact, the only people being strange were probably him and Mrs Hughes he realised. So intent were they to find clues and inconsistencies in everyone else's behaviour they had been noticeably quiet throughout the meal. Which was perhaps why Gwen and Daisy had been looking at them strangely. He felt like laughing, they were being foolish. Everyone was obviously just in a good mood, for whatever reason.

Mrs Hughes however was not so easily convinced and came to him again after lunch.

"Well?" she asked. "You can't tell me that was normal? Something is not right."

"It's unusual yes but…" he began haltingly.

"They are up to something!" she said.

"What could they possibly be up to?" he asked. "What is there to gain from being civil and cheerful?"

"Well…" Mrs Hughes furrowed her brow in thought for a moment but had to admit she couldn't think of any immediate gain. "I don't know. But I know they are up to something!" she still insisted.

"Let's say there was some way in which they could gain from this behaviour. Can you really see Thomas and Miss O'Brien teaming up with the others to achieve a goal? Or vice versa?" Mr Carson asked.

"I can see it happening sooner than I can imagine Thomas just happened to find Mr Bates story fascinating and had nothing disparaging to say about it!" Mrs Hughes countered.

Mr Carson sighed. "I don't know. I guess all we can do is wait for it all to pan out." He said resignedly.

Mrs Hughes did not like the passive "let's see what happens" approach when it came to anything but for once she couldn't think of anything else that could be done.

Mr Carson served His Lordship tea in the library, whilst Lord Grantham paced in front of the fireplace.

"Everything alright M'Lord?" Carson asked with concern. Lord Grantham sighed.

"Yes, well…Sybil seized yet another opportunity to upset the apple cart during lunch. I swear she saves up her most outrageous statements for her grandmother's visits!" Robert rolled his eyes. Frustrating though Sybil was, even he couldn't help but get a kick out of her behaviour sometimes- or more accurately his mother's reactions to it! He smiled to himself.

"Lady Sybil has quite the dynamic personality. I am sure that is something the Dowager Countess can relate to." Carson replied. "Forgive me." He bowed his head, eyes trained on the floor.

Robert laughed. "You are quite right Carson! You are quite right!" he stopped pacing and took a seat. "At least Sybil has always been something of an open book. Alas, the same cannot be said for her sisters. I am quite confounded by their behaviour at the moment."

Carson said nothing but gave His Lordship a questioning look.

"Actually," Robert said with a sudden realisation. "There hasn't been one cross word between any of them for days."

This caught Carson's attention.

"And you've been with us long enough Carson to know what a rare occurrence that is!" Robert said.

"When you say there hasn't been a cross word…?"

"As my dear wife would say, they've been as nice as pie to each other for days. I cannot for the life of me think what they could be up to." Lord Grantham furrowed his brow in thought just as Mrs Hughes had earlier. "Thank yourself lucky you don't have children Carson! You have been spared from such frustrations and mysteries!"

"Indeed M'Lord." Carson said wryly. "Indeed."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for reviews! Here goes part two...**

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><p>She was extremely relieved when the day reached an end. The strange undercurrent amongst the staff had continued all through dinner. Whilst they had not been as boisterous as they had earlier in the day, the general atmosphere has remained suspiciously cheery. Mr Carson had seemed distracted throughout and she hoped there was nothing the matter.<p>

Making her way to Mr Carson's office she knocked on the door and waited for his permission to enter. He was seated at his desk, his posture weary and his brow furrowed. He still managed a small smile when she entered.

"Mrs Hughes, I thought everyone had called it a night by now." He said.

"I think we're the last." She said, noticing how tired he looked all of a sudden. "Is anything the matter Mr Carson? You seemed a little morose during dinner."

He shook his head. "It's been a busy few days, that's all."

"It's been a busy few years!" Mrs Hughes said gently. His answer had not been an answer at all, as they last few days had no busier than any other.

Mr Carson chuckled. "Do you think maybe it's always been like this and we just didn't find it as…tiring?" he asked.

She raised her eyebrows. "Do you mean, are we just getting too old for this?"

"Ha! Maybe." He conceded.

"We're far from it!" she replied somewhat primly which made him chuckle again. "However, if you continue to work late like this it won't be long before you work yourself into an early grave." She nodded towards the ledgers he had open in front of him.

He followed her gaze and sighed. "If I'm honest, I haven't been doing much work" he confessed. "I've spent most of the evening going over and over the same figures and getting nowhere. Can't seem to concentrate this evening."

"Then leave it aside until tomorrow." She advised. "Go to bed and rest."

"I really don't think I could sleep" he mumbled, almost to himself.

She looked at him with concern. There was obviously something bothering him.

"Is there something troubling you Mr Carson?" she asked. "You know you can always confide in me."

He smiled gratefully at her. "I know. And I appreciate your concern."

"But you don't want to talk about it?" she guessed.

"It's not something that would be my place to discuss." He replied.

Something to do with the family then, she thought. "Well, if there's to be no sleeping and no talking…how about I do something else for you?"

Carson raised his eyebrows curiously.

"Cocoa? In my sitting room? You can sit there and drink it in silence if you want." She offered. She thought his face brightened suddenly as he agreed and thanked her.

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><p>He sat on her settee and she handed him the cup and took a seat opposite in her armchair. She watched him take a sip and debated whether to ask him again about this matter which was troubling him. She didn't want to push him though.<p>

"Things with the family have been very calm of late." Mrs Hughes commented quietly. "I take it the incident with Lady Sybil has been forgotten." Referring to the evening Sybil had attended an election count and been injured. His Lordship has been furious, and who could blame him? For a while it had looked as though Branson might lose his job but between Lady Sybil's threats to run away if Branson were to be fired and Lady Mary's assertions that Branson was not to blame the young man had luckily kept his position.

Carson raised an eyebrow. "Hardly forgotten but I think His Lordship has decided to move on from it. Branson should count himself lucky he still has a job."

"Indeed. Lady Sybil is alright though isn't she?" Perhaps this was what was troubling him.

"Yes, she's fine. Very much back to her old self from what I gather." he smiled to himself slightly remembering what Lord Grantham had said earlier that evening about her. He took another sip of his cocoa. "His Lordship is still quite concerned about her though. She still doesn't seem to grasp the danger of the situation she got herself into. By all accounts, it could have been much worse if Mr Crawley had not arrived when he did."

"I don't the young ever do fully grasp the concept of danger. Perhaps they are not meant to or otherwise they would be too afraid to make their way in the world." Mrs Hughes mused.

Mr Carson looked at her thoughtfully. "Bit of a rebel in your day were you?" he asked with a hint of amusement.

"Rebel? No." she smiled. "But I did have my share of hair raising moments. I didn't realise at the time perhaps but…looking back, " she got a sudden vacant look in her eyes, "…well," she shook her self a little. "When you leave home at the age of 14 to work you have very little understanding of the world or of people. The situations you find yourself in…if you realised at the time the peril of it the terror would probably prove too much."

He was not sure if he saw a hint of sadness in her expression. He wondered what kind of situation it was that had been so perilous.

"You are right I suppose. We made our way in the world without any of the securities that Lady Sybil enjoys. But in a way it is those very things which keep her safe that have made her all the more vulnerable. I don't think she truly realises the harshness of this world."

"Unfortunately, that's an understanding that only comes with experience." Mrs Hughes said sympathetically.

"Hmm."

They were both silent for a while, both lost in memories of their own youth.

"His Lordship said to me today," Carson began, "that I should count myself lucky I never had children." He stared into his cocoa cup.

"There is no more stressful a job than parenting I'd imagine." Mrs Hughes mused, then glancing at him asked; "Would you have liked children?"

"In an ideal world" he answered.

"Was there anyone…sorry, it's none of my business." She had been about to ask if he had ever had anyone special in his life who he would have considered having children with and suddenly realised the impertinence of such a question.

He glanced up from his cup for a moment, realising her question.

"Not really." He said. "It would be a far more interesting story to say that yes, there had been a great love of my life but so strong was my vocation to become a butler that I had spurned her in favour of a life in service." he smiled boldly, "But no. " His boldness evaporated suddenly and he looked at the cup in his hands again. " I wasn't…there was no one. I thought for a while there might have been…" he looked sad suddenly.

Mrs Hughes felt suddenly a little uncomfortable. She had not meant to make him melancholic.

"Whoever let you go must have needed her head examining!" she said more vehemently than she had intended.

He looked at her with surprise and chuckled in amusement. "I was too nice apparently." He said, he could remember as though it were yesterday how it felt like his heart had been ripped out when she had told him.

"Too nice?" Mrs Hughes scoffed. "How on earth is possible to be too nice?"

"I think it was a euphemism for 'dull'" he said ruefully.

"I think you had a lucky escape then!" Mrs Hughes replied. "Foolish woman." She shook her head.

He chuckled again. "Maybe. She married a… an acquaintance. Last I heard he'd run off with a…a woman of let's say, questionable repute and she was working on a fairground."

"Well," Mrs Hughes was wide-eyed, "I bet she regrets letting you go now! Too nice!" she huffed again. "Ridiculous. She was just too daft to recognise a truly good man when she had him." Suddenly she realised that her comments could be mistaken for gushing and forward. She smiled at Mr Carson a little self-consciously. He was smiling back with a hint of amusement.

"You wouldn't have thought me too dull then and sent me packing?" he asked playfully.

"No, I would not." She answered honestly.

"Shame I didn't bump into you years ago then!" he gave her a lopsided grin and drained the rest of his cocoa. He was teasing her now, she realised.

"You think we could have lived happily ever after?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"I think so." He glanced slyly at her. "I mean, we're not doing too badly as it is." He smiled at her confusion. "It struck me this afternoon, when his Lordship said I was lucky not to have any children, that sometimes it feels as though I do! Sometimes, with the younger members of staff…I feel like, a replacement father of sorts." He looked at her a little shyly in case she thought he was being ridiculous.

Mrs Hughes was nodding. "I know what you mean." He was relieved to hear her say.

"His Lordship said I have avoided all the stress and worry but, I worry just as much about the younger members of staff – Thomas aside – as if they were my own flesh and blood. And I spend just as much time, as you yourself do, refereeing arguments amongst them as His Lordship does amongst the girls…" he laughed a little. "So I am not sure I missed out on much at all."

She understood what he'd meant now. "So, what you are saying is, we have inadvertently ended up almost like a married couple?"

He nodded. "We worry about the young people under our care, we spend most of our time discussing household issues (granted they pertain to someone else's house), we enforce the rules and discipline. We deal with all the headaches and disputes. We work ourselves almost into a state of paranoia when everyone plays nicely and there are no disputes to be moderate…." He laughed. "And here we are at the end of our day discussing things over a cup of cocoa."

She laughed a little too. "When you put it that way, I suppose."

"It's marriage without the fun bits." He said wryly.

"Fun bits?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Well, I mean without all the…you know, at the beginning and…" It was difficult to tell in the light of the room but it almost looked like he was blushing. "I'm not saying, we don't have any fun, I mean any good, enjoyable moments, we do. Just not like married couples do." He was floundering now. "Forgive me, it's late and I'm rambling." He could feel his cheeks getting warm.

She stared at him for a moment before speaking. "I think I know what you mean." She smiled. "And I think we better call it a night before we start giving too much thought to what those "fun bits" might entail!"


	3. Chapter 3

**I am so glad people are enjoying this. Thank you for the comments :) Just a short update because I don't usually have much time to write midweek.**

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><p>Mr Carson hovered momentarily outside the staff hall and listened to the others chattering away inside. Daisy was recounting a terrible nightmare she had during the night, in which it seemed, Mrs Patmore had turned into a fire breathing dragon and attempted to eat her!<p>

"I was ever so lucky Mr Carson came along." Daisy continued. "Mrs Patmore took one look at 'im and shrivelled up into a little scaly ball like. It was ever so weird." She said solemnly. "And all 'e said was 'It's alright now Daisy'….," Mr Carson smiled to himself listening as Daisy attempted to imitate his voice. "I'll deal with this, you carry on with your work.' He's ever so dignified is Mr Carson. Even with a fire breathing Mrs Patmore loose in the kitchen."

Carson held back a laugh.

"Mr Carson was very quiet at dinner last night, don't you think?" William wondered aloud.

"I thought that too." Gwen agreed.

"It must be awful pressure, being butler." Said Daisy. "And being like in charge all the time. I don't think I could ever be a butler."

"Of course you couldn't you ninny, you're a girl!" Miss O'Brien snapped. "Anyway, he's getting a bit long in the tooth for it now. He'll soon be nodding off once it hits six o'clock in the evening. They should give that job to someone younger."

"Hear hear!" From Thomas of course. Carson could feel himself bristling.

"Don't be daft." He heard Anna's voice. "Mr Carson is nowhere near retirement. He has plenty of years in him yet and the family will be hard pressed to find anyone who could fill his shoes. There is certainly no suitable candidate on staff at the moment."

Carson mentally thanked Anna, especially for the last line which was obviously aimed at Thomas. Perhaps yesterday's friendliness had just evaporated overnight?

"I agree." Said Gwen.

"Me too." Said Mr Bates. "Mr Carson is a good man and excels at his job. There's people here who would do well to learn from him."

"Hark at the Mr Carson fan club!" Thomas jeered. "Where is he this morning then eh? Mr Perfect Butler, late for breakfast!"

Carson checked his watch. Thomas was right, he was late. He straightened himself and prepared to enter but not before Thomas continued…

"And oh look, who else is missing? Mrs Hughes! Hmm, I wonder, could that be a coincidence!"

"What do you mean?" Daisy asked innocently. "Do you think something's happened?"

"I think if old Carson was lucky something might have!" Thomas answered her cryptically.

Carson felt his jaw clenching. Thomas was a truly appalling person.

"Or unlucky." Miss O'Brien added.

He could imagine Daisy with that puzzled look on her face which she wore so often because Anna said; "Ignore them Daisy. I am sure Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes have very good reasons for running late."

"I'm sure they do." Thomas sniggered.

Carson wondered briefly why Mrs Hughes was late but decided not to delay any further. If he heard any more from Thomas he would not be able to hold his temper. He walked in purposefully.

"Good morning." He said, without giving any hint that he had heard the previous conversation.

"Good morning Mr Carson!" came the dutiful replies.


	4. Chapter 4

**Once again, thanks for the comments. Hope you like this chapter :)**

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><p>Mrs Hughes hurriedly made her way to breakfast. She had been waylaid by Mrs Patmore. The tetchy cook had decided to start earlier today in her ranting about the store cupboard. Talking about dinner time ingredients when she had yet to even make breakfast! Ridiculous, Mrs Hughes thought to herself.<p>

The others were already tucking into their breakfast.

"Pardon my lateness." Mrs Hughes said quietly. She shook her head mildly in answer to Mr Carson's questioning look. Unnoticed by anyone else, she knew the look meant 'is something wrong?'. She could read him like a book. Once settled she glanced around the table to gauge the day's mood. Everyone seemed quite engrossed with their food. Perhaps yesterday's jolliness had been a once off.

"Why don't you tell Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson about your dream Daisy." Thomas suddenly suggested. "It was a corker Mrs Hughes! Mrs Patmore as a dragon."

"Goodness. More of a nightmare than a dream then I'd have thought." Mrs Hughes replied lightly.

"Oh it was terrifying!" Daisy said, her voice almost a whisper as though she were still scared.

"It worked out well in the end though didn't it Daisy?" Thomas asked. "Mr Carson appeared as knight in shining armour and rescued her. You have probably had similar dreams yourself Mrs Hughes."

"I beg your pardon?" she asked.

"Sorry, I should say nightmares. About Mrs Patmore as a raving dragon demanding a key to the store cupboard." He smiled innocently.

"No, fortunately I can say I have never had such a nightmare." Mrs Hughes said with a level tone.

Carson was doing all he could to keep from snapping at Thomas.

"Strange things, dreams. Nightmares." Thomas mused almost as though talking to himself. "I had a dream once that I owned my very own motor car. I drove all the way to London and was back here again in time for tea."

"As if we'd ever see you again if you had a motor." Miss O'Brien scoffed. "You'd hightail it out of here faster than you could say 'Shove your job'!"

"Oh I didn't come back here to work." Thomas said. "I didn't just own my own motor, I owned this place! Lock stock and barrel!"

"Wow." Said Daisy, impressed. "Did we all still work here?"

"Of course. I wouldn't turf you lot out. Well…" Thomas looked pointedly at Mr Bates. "I would definitely keep you on Daisy." He told her earnestly.

One of the bells from upstairs went.

"Alright. Enough nonsense, time to work." Carson said and they all began to move.

"I'd keep you on too, of course, Mr Carson. I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather have as my butler." Thomas told him. "And Mrs Hughes. Couldn't split you two up." He added quietly with a sly look at Carson.

Carson ignored the remark. When everyone else had gone about their business Carson turned towards Mrs Hughes.

"Thomas is a…" he bit his tongue and held back the word he wanted to use.

"Yes. He is." Mrs Hughes agreed.

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><p>Miss O'Brien caught up with Thomas on the stair case.<p>

"What are you playing at now?" she hissed. "What happened to the 'let's be all sweetness and light' routine you had going yesterday?"

Thomas smirked. "That was yesterday." He glanced around making sure no one was within earshot. "I told you, I could have that lot eating out of the palm of my hand and I proved it. Mr Carson can play the high and mighty patriarch all he wants, but I am the one who pulls the staffs' strings. I can either have things running smoothly, with everyone playing nicely – like I did yesterday. Or…" he grinned wickedly.

Miss O'Brien looked bored.

"Or what? Just because you didn't pick a fight with anyone for a whole day means nowt. So everyone was running around smiling and thinking you were graciousness incarnated. Whilst you were playing games it was still old Carson making all the decisions wasn't it?"

Thomas sighed.

"Your problem is you have no vision." He turned to face her directly. "If I could get po-faced Anna and that joke Bates to think that I was really interested in their stupid stories, then I can get them to believe anything. I had them eating out of my hands yesterday. Even you were more cheerful yesterday."

"And you're taking credit for that are you?" Miss O'Brien asked, unimpressed.

"Yes. I am. I control the mood of the staff. I can twist every single one of them around my little finger." He said.

"I'm so very pleased for you." Miss O'Brien said sarcastically and began to move on up the stairs.

"You should be. Because yesterday was just a trial run." Thomas smiled enigmatically.

"A trial run for what?" Miss O'Brien paused and raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

But Thomas just continued to smile.


End file.
